New York Post
Belgium vs. Iran World Cup prediction: Odds, picks, best bet for Group G match on Sunday
Belgium and Iran will want to wash the bitter tastes out of their mouths on Sunday.
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Politics
World Cup fuels ticketing reform demands
Center Left
Advocacy groups urge Congress to get tough on scams.
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The Gateway Pundit
JD Vance’s Role in Iran Negotiations Continues to Fuel 2028 Presidential Buzz (VIDEO)
The Patriot Perspective has recently switched its main platform from YouTube, and we would greatly appreciate it if you subscribed to us there. [HERE] Vice President JD Vance is increasingly stepping into the spotlight as the Trump administration works to manage high-stakes negotiations with Iran, fueling even more speculation that he is positioning himself as the leading America First contender for 2028. The post JD Vance’s Role in Iran Negotiations Continues to Fuel 2028 Presidential Buzz (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Far Right
US news | The Guardian
The French aristocrat and the all-American idiot: Henry v Lalas is the World Cup’s most compelling battle
Fox’s broadcast at the tournament has become a story of two contrasting styles. And there is one clear winnerWe all know someone like Alexi Lalas. He’s the ranter whose rants never actually say anything, the life of the party at the party no one enjoys attending, the “big personality” who’s always misjudging the size of the room. He’s corporate America’s idea of a fun guy, the type of workplace “character” whose business trip hangover never stops him from being first at the hotel breakfast buffet, hair wet, Untuckit shirt untucked. He would absolutely dominate karaoke night at a conference on infrastructure finance. If only this were the limit of Alexi Lalas’s actual impact on the world, our culture would live in blessed ignorance of his existence. But in the real world Alexi Lalas is not a small-time menace working the floor at an infrastructure conference. In the real world Alexi Lalas is American soccer’s brightest media star, and he is everywhere this World Cup.When Lalas’s Roger Ramjet jaw thrust into frame on Fox at the start of this tournament, it’s fair to assume that many viewers felt a sense of dread similar to that expressed in the Grand Theft Auto meme: “Ah shit, here we go again.” Lalas’s ubiquitousness every World Cup is American TV’s answer to the Iran war: no one wants it, everyone hates it, and as it drags on, it inevitably becomes a face-saving exercise in damage limitation. But there was also a glimmer of hope: for this tournament Fox has enlisted a pair of elite European strikers, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović, to terrorize Lalas and shake proceedings up. Steered by Rebecca Lowe, this new-look panel has promised a slightly more sophisticated approach to covering the tournament than the yahooing belligerence that was Fox’s stock in trade at the last two World Cups. Continue reading...
Center Left
Axios
Welcome to America, World Cup visitors. Don't forget to tip.
Millions of World Cup visitors are experiencing American cuisine for the first time and there's one menu item that's completely foreign: tipping.Why it matters: Many restaurants in World Cup host cities are adding 20% gratuities to customers' bills this summer to accommodate international fans who might otherwise accidentally stiff their servers.What they're saying: Teneshia Murray Butler, owner of the Atlanta-based chain T's Brunch Bar, tells Axios she raised the restaurants' automatic gratuity from 18% to 20% for the World Cup."My servers are everything. They're like the quarterback to the rest of the team," she says."Doing this makes the server see that I'm putting them first, ... and I care about them and their money."The big picture: Tipping isn't customary in many countries, and the U.S. version of it is unusually central to worker pay.In America, tipped workers can be paid as little as $2.13 an hour as long as tips bring them up to the $7.25 federal minimum wage.Tipping originated in feudal Europe, where royalty tipped servants in addition to paying them a living wage. The U.S. later adopted the practice after enslavement ended, using it as a way to keep Black workers in poverty."Restaurants wanted to be able to continue to access free Black labor," Saru Jayaraman, president of advocacy group One Fair Wage, tells Axios. "So they mutated tipping from being an extra bonus on top of the wages... to becoming a replacement for wages."Case in point: Jessica Ordeñana, a NYC bartender, tells Axios her restaurant is adding automatic gratuity for tourists, but that occasionally gets missed during busy game days.She says a large group of foreign fans came in to watch Tuesday's match between Argentina and Algeria and ran up a bill of about $300."They left like a $4 tip, and that was really, really disgusting. We depend on [tips], but unfortunately we cannot depend on them, because of how low they are," Ordeñana says.Between the lines: David Cooper, director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network, tells Axios research shows the poverty rate for tipped workers is "dramatically lower" in states like California, Minnesota and Montana where servers receive tips on top of the full minimum wage versus those in states that follow the federal tipped minimum wage.Poverty rates for non-tipped workers are "essentially the same" across both groups of states, which suggests the tipped wage policy itself is a key driver, he says.Zoom in: Unionized servers and bartenders at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles authorized a strike a week before the tournament's opening match, threatening a walkout.The strike was averted after the union reached an agreement with management. Tipped workers at SoFi won a 30% pay increase.The bottom line: Jayaraman says she hopes the World Cup "shines a light" on tipped workers' vulnerability — and the year-round insecurity a temporary service charge can't fix."We always say your tips go up and down, month to month, shift to shift, season to season, but your bills don't go up and down, they just go up and up."Go deeper: World Cup collides with Trump's America First agenda
Center Left
US news | The Guardian
Some US players believe they can win the World Cup. Are they deluded?
Mauricio Pochettino’s players have got off to a scorching start to the tournament. Going all the way will require the team reaching a whole new levelThe United States can win the World Cup. The US players say so. So does Zlatan Ibrahimović. Because you are a smart Guardian reader, you know that, theoretically, any team who are not yet eliminated can win the World Cup. And you know that this US team have won their opening two World Cup games convincingly, securing the top spot in Group D and a place in the knockout round with a game to spare. Making the World Cup final, and winning it, is in the realm of possibility.But can they? Within the team, there has been belief they can go all the way for some time. US head coach Mauricio Pochettino laid down the marker in his introductory press conference, and has stuck to his belief. His players have followed suit. But now, even famous pundits with outsized egos are saying the US can shock the world and capture the men’s World Cup for the first time on home soil. Continue reading...
Center Left
New York Post
Erling Haaland has Sydney Sweeney on his mind during World Cup: ‘Thinking of her’
One of the biggest stars to take the field during the 2026 World Cup is Erling Haaland. The 25-year-old Norwegian striker has been world-class with Manchester City over the past several years, and finally gets to showcase his abilities on the world’s biggest international stage. Because Norway isn’t a powerhouse when it comes to soccer,...
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New York Post
Deniz Undav’s wife Tanja gushes over Germany hero’s World Cup performance
The Germany men’s soccer team looked to be in trouble in its World Cup stage game against the Ivory Coast on June 20. This is because the Ivory Coast jumped to a 1-0 lead after a goal by Franck Kessié in the 30th minute. Despite having several solid opportunities, Germany couldn’t find the back of...
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NYT > U.S. > Politics
Arizona Democrat’s Tough Past Fuels Pitch for a Key House Seat
JoAnna Mendoza, a Democrat challenging Representative Juan Ciscomani in a tossup district, is leaning into her painful and unique life story to appeal to voters.
Center Left